What germs lurk in your hotel room?

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DENVER -- Before you let your family check into a hotel this holiday season, experts are warning perspective guests what could be lurking underneath the "clean" sheets and "vacuumed" carpets.

FOX31 Denver went undercover to test five Denver area hotels to discover if the price paid by guests necessarily translated into a cleaner room. The hotels chosen by our investigative team ranged in price between $60-600 per night.

"Certainly in a hotel you don't know whose been there before, whose been coughing, sneezing, grabbing remotes, touching the dressers, grabbing faucets or whether or not they got wiped down appropriately," said Dr. Michelle Barron an infectious disease expert with the University of Colorado-Denver.

To protect yourself before settling in experts recommend wiping down common surfaces like television remotes, door handles, and light switches. It's those areas that are most likely to have been used the most by a previous guest.

"Bacteria can live a long time and so there's always that wonder that could you be exposing yourself for a long time and so there's always that wonder if your being exposed to germs that aren't already a part of you." added Dr. Barron.